I am affected by the energy shifts of the new and full moons, but personally, I notice more of an effect when the moon is conjunct my natal sun (I call it my personal new moon) or opposite it (personal full moon). Anybody else notice that these personal cycles are a little more obvious then where in the lunation the moon itself actually is?

Also, why would something like this happen? Is it because I'm a sun-type person?

:) Kes

snuffy

11-01-2004, 15:39

hmm, i'm not an astrology adept, but i know that my best friend is unable to sleep during full moons, and i want to say that she's on the cusp of leo and virgo-- leo, of course, ruled by the sun.

i could be totally off-base here, but your post reminded me of her and her most intriguing sleep pattern :)

isthmus nekoi

12-01-2004, 01:31

I would guess Kes, it's b/c of the fact that the moon is making an aspect to the sun. They're talking to each other at that point.

DeLani

13-01-2004, 02:53

OK, so we know our birthday is our grand solar return, so what is up with a lunar return? Wouldn't we have one every month, and what would it mean? Anything? My intuition tells me that since the Moon rules our emotions and subconscious, our feelings and dreams might be affected more than anything.
I've been thinking about this a lot, since I was born on a solar eclipse, and wondering when there is a new moon in Capricorn, is that a particularly lucky? unlucky? soul-searching? something? time for me? since it would happen near my birthday anyway...
My birthdays always suck...so I'm wondering why.

Minderwiz

13-01-2004, 03:05

Personal new and full moons can certainly be used for predictions and for some people these are indeed more influential than the calendar lunations. Also lunar returns (when the transiting moon conjuncts your natal moon) can be useful predictive events.

Go with whichever seems to work best for you.

DeLani

15-01-2004, 03:41

Originally posted by Minderwiz
Personal new and full moons can certainly be used for predictions and for some people these are indeed more influential than the calendar lunations. Also lunar returns (when the transiting moon conjuncts your natal moon) can be useful predictive events.

Go with whichever seems to work best for you.
Useful in what way? And how? I just had one last month, so I'm curious.

ncefafn

16-01-2004, 10:39

I think everyone reacts to different things in different ways. Personally, I never pay attention to lunations or returns, and only look at transits from the Big 4 (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto). Now, progressions are a totally different thing. Right now, I've got a huge thing going on, progressed Mars opposite natal Saturn, which a few months ago was aggravated by transiting Uranus. When you've got a spotlight trained on your face, a candle in the other room doesn't really register on your consciousness.

All of this is by way of saying, depending on what's going on with your progressions and transits, your sensitivity to lunations may be strong or weak. My first instinct, though, is to look at the progressions and transits to see if they could be triggering what you're experiencing. It may be that some progressed planet is hitting your natal Moon, making that planet more sensitive than it would normally be. Alternatively, your progressed Moon may be hitting a planet or point in your natal chart. If your Moon sensitivity is up, poke around and see what's going on.

Best,

Kim

Minderwiz

17-01-2004, 04:51

the lunar return happens every month! They give a picture of the background feelings - the mood and tone of the month - which tend to operate on a day to day level. These are not indicators of major events but quite often we are more interested in what things are going to be like this week rather than this year.

The Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto approach is all very well but by their very natures these transits are comparatively rare and may well indicate the major crises of life rather than when's a good day to paint the fence. There are a variety of Astrological techniques which can be used for different types of issue or event.

ncefafn

17-01-2004, 06:31

Minderwiz wrote:

The Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto approach is all very well but by their very natures these transits are comparatively rare and may well indicate the major crises of life rather than when's a good day to paint the fence. There are a variety of Astrological techniques which can be used for different types of issue or event.

Hi, Minderwiz. I guess it's the "comparatively rare" part that I like. Saturn's crossing my Ascendant right now; last year, Pluto stationed twice squaring on my natal Pluto, and one cat almost died and another cat did; before that Uranus stationed opposite my Venus, and my mother died. I really don't want to know what fresh "little hell" awaits me each week. I'm quite happy shoring up for the big ones. And as for painting the fence, any day when it's warm and sunny is a good day to paint the fence. :D

I guess it's all a matter of personal preference, and as Martha Stewart would surely agree, that's a good thing. :)

Minderwiz

17-01-2004, 08:30

Hi ncefafn,

I perhaps ovestated my case a little :) - the outer transits are of course useful and quite often its the crisis that dominates life rather than the little things.

However, much of life is routine - despite what the psychologists think - and I think Astrology should be just as good at that as it is in dealing with life's major signposts - the one should not replace the other, both are complementary.

You'll find as you read through this forum that I tend to be in a minority, using the traditional rulers and trying out traditional methods, not so much because I think that the psychological approach is wrong but because I think its often overdone and sometimes poorly based in Astrological technique.

As you say diversity is a good thing :)

ncefafn

17-01-2004, 08:41

Hi, Minderwiz. I do agree with you on the traditional rulerships issue. So we're not all that far apart. :)

And as for the daily/weekly predictions, I guess I prefer to be surprised, or maybe it's just that I don't like doing the math. :D

However, I'm very curious as to your take on the eclipses. Since you're in England, I'm guessing that your training was British, and I know that the British astrologers take a keener look at eclipses than Americans do. What's your view of both the lunar and solar eclipses in predictive work?

Kim

scorpio

17-01-2004, 09:04

great question necefafn! i would love to hear if minderwiz has any eclipse info. i read an article in the now defunct? dell horoscope magazine by someone who was going to write a book and they lamented the lack of written material on eclipses given their imporatance, a view i share. i still have a few of the magazines left and i will see if i can find this article but would love to hear more on this subject.

Minderwiz

17-01-2004, 21:10

And I wish I knew the answer :) :) :)

I think Astrological influences are often a lot more subtle and background than we expect. Another of the 'sins' of the psychological astrologers (and indeed newspaper columns) is to lead people into believing that planets come up and hit you on the head (so to speak).

Now this does indeed happen but thankfully not every day or even every week or month. The lunar cycle has an influence but it is very much at the subtle end for most people (though some, such as my wife, react strongly to New Moons or Full Moons).

Even worse, there are a number of possible lunar cycles - as we've seen above. One of them is likely to work for you - but the same one doesn't work for everyone. So there's an investment of effort to find which cycle people operate on.

A good coverage of both the lunar cycle and eclipses is in Bernadette Brady's 'Predictive Astrology, The Eagle and the Lark' and I tend to work from her, when I look at these areas. There's another fairly good book on retunrs by Janey Stubbs and Babs Kirkby - 'Interpreting Solar and Lunar Returns', which also takes a quick look at Mercury and Venus returns as well.

Returning to Eclipses, the traditional approach is to treat these as operating at the mundane level - societies, nations, states, tribes, rather than at the individual level. So whilst we are all affected to a greater or lesser degree, as members of society, we should not expect to have an upfront personal experience - unless the eclipse makes an important aspect to the natal chart. Again some people will be more sensitive than others - or at least more aware of an effect. Brady gives a very good outline of the Saros Cycles and approaches to eclipses.

I take a strong view (highly traditional) that Astrology is not deterministic but gives us additional information which can inform our choices. The problems come when we tend to believe that there are forces out there which control us and which we cannot influence. In part the attitude to outer planet transits, which the psychologists adopt tend to foster the latter view, despite their avowed belief that the aim is to get people to take responsibility for their lives.

I not only understand but agree strongly with ncefafn that it is often better to let life surprise us than to search for 'determining factors'. I very rarely look at my own outer transits (or indeed any transits) except in retrospect. I prefer in the main to let life take its course. It may also be that it's difficult to interpret for yourself. That being said a solar return which can indicate the flavour of the year is quite useful because the interpretation is 'light'. I do however use horary techniques to help me examine issues that are current - such as the pet cat that goes missing and whether he will come back.